How China’s Three Gorges Dam Is Slowing Down Earth's Rotation

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Ever feel like your to-do list is shrinking the day rather than the day shrinking your to-do list? Blame China’s Three Gorges Dam, the planet’s unlikeliest timekeeper. 

NASA has recently confirmed that the dam, which happens to be the world’s largest hydroelectric power station, has caused a small but measurable change to Earth’s rotation.

Three Dams for One Extra Second
Fancy an extra second in your day? You’d need the gravitational heft of 16,666,666 Three Gorges Dams—give or take a few trillion gallons—to slow Earth down by one full second.

According to NASA’s Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao, this colossal hydroelectric wonder has stretched each day by a whopping 0.06 microseconds—just enough to smirk at your calendar and say, “You can’t rush perfection.”

A Reservoir That Tickles Time
Completed in 2012 on the Yangtze River, the dam holds roughly 40 km³ of water (about 10 trillion gallons), sitting 175 m above sea level. 

That mass shift tweaks Earth’s moment of inertia—think of the planet as a figure skater extending her arms. It spins slower when it stretches out, and voilà: your 24 hours now come with a gratis 0.00000006-second bonus. Not bad for a $20.4 billion price tag!

Axis Tilt: Earth’s New Yoga Pose
If you thought shifting your mattress ever changed your mood, wait ’til you hear this: the dam has nudged our axis by 2 cm. 

Now Earth stands a tad straighter (or floppier, depending on your coordinate system), proving that even planets can catch a mediocre posture bug.

What to Do with Your 0.06 Microseconds
Science says 0.06 μs is about how long it takes to identify a smell or for your dog to pinpoint the source of a squeak. 

So go ahead—sniff that latte extra carefully, or let Fido play Sherlock for an extra sniff. 

Otherwise, savor the cosmic joke: even the biggest human structures barely budge planetary time.

So next time you’re running late, just remind yourself that Mother Earth’s in no hurry, thanks to a dam that gives new meaning to “damn, I’m slow.”

 

 Please support my writing by donating $1 at https://buymeacoffee.com/doublejeopardynews

 

  1. #DamTime

  2. #MicroNapEarth

  3. #ThreeGorgesTweak

  4. #TickTockDamClock

  5. #SlowSpinWin

  6. #AxisAdjustment

  7. #CosmicDamJoke

  8. #0Point06Life

  9. #ReservoirOfTime

  10. #PlanetaryPause

  11. #16MillionDams

  12. #SkaterEarth

  13. #DamFineEngineering

  14. #GravityGiggles

  15. #EarthsMicroseconds

 

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